The Pentillos Five
by TheHouseKey
Summary: Not a dimension fic! Five cousins are used to living a normal life until their mothers are murdered. Why? What use are they to this 'Dark Lord' who's suddenly after them and their fathers?
1. So It Begins

We start our story in a quiet house of three in the suburbs. Vince Pentillo IV just returned home from work, and Dawn Pentillo, his wife, was getting ready to go shopping with her sisters-in-law. Their fifteen year old only child and daughter Elizabeth Pentillo was supposed to be doing her homework in her bedroom.

Notice the words "supposed to be." Instead of doing what she was "supposed to," Elizabeth was playing video games. If only she could pass this level, then she'd turn it off and do her homework. That was due two weeks ago.

Elizabeth was a mix of cultural backgrounds, from her father's diehard Italian upbringing, to her mother's German and Polish household. Dark brown hair hung in long waves down her back, and doe-like brown eyes perceived the world with an immortal childlike wonder. Skin normally found on those who lived near the equator graced Elizabeth, so she looked a mystery to those who didn't know her personally.

Not be her choice, however. Elizabeth was as open as a book, and, she admitted to herself, just as complicated and interesting as one. Whether or not the book in question was well-written didn't matter to Elizabeth.

As she finished the level, there was a knock at the door. Two men and four girls filed into the little house, while Dawn left. Vincent embraced the two men, as they were his brothers Tom and Frank. Their daughters went straight to Elizabeth's room, as was usual.

The first girl to enter had a classic beauty thrust into the fashion of the times. Her permed hair was dyed a deep brown that was different from the dark brown common to the Pentillo family. It was tamed and sculpted to perfection. Her face was slightly tinted with smooth bits of color, and her skin was darker than normal because of her love of the tanning salon.

"Anastasia," Elizabeth greeted with an icy coldness.

"Elizabeth," she said in the same tone.

The two stayed in their position, glaring at each other for about two minutes. Then they jumped into an affectionate hug.

"It's good to see you, again, Ana!" Elizabeth exclaimed warmly.

"Even though it's only been a week, Liz," Ana reminded.

The next girl to come in was very different from Ana, who was her sister. Her dark, untainted hair was pulled back in a low pony tail that took all of five seconds to make. Her soft brown eyes were timid, and she wore a simple tee shirt and boot cut jeans.

"Hey, Susan," said Liz as they embraced.

"Hi, Liz."

Then sauntered in Victoria. Her dark brown hair was highlighted with dark red, and her make-up was loud and colorful. Her jean outfit was black, and her hair was cut razor sharp at her chin. She looked all attitude with her fierce eyes outlined in striking black. They were different from the others, as her eyes were light brown. Those fierce eyes softened as they saw Liz. She and her cousin hugged briefly.

"Welcome, Vick."

Vick shrugged and sat down on the bed.

The last girl to cross the threshold was dressed in pink fleece, and was Vick's sister. Her hair was raven black and permed. Her eyes were large, like Liz's, and her mouth was set in an eternal pout when it wasn't smiling. Her make-up was light and airy, and her face was lit with a bubbly grin.

"Greetings, Cat," Liz said. "Now that you're all here…" The girls chatted on for awhile.

These were the next generation of Pentillos. They were all born in the year 1980, but at different times. Vick was the oldest, coming into the world on January sixth. Next was Elizabeth on October seventeenth. Then came Susan and Ana on November second, and last was Cat on December fifth. They'd had their trials and tribulations amongst themselves, but, at aging to fifteen, they learned things were better when cousins and sisters were friends, not enemies. They went to three different high schools, as they lived in three different parts of the city.

About fifteen minutes later, Susan and Ana's father, Tom, came into Liz's room and told the girls to report in the living room. Groaning, the five of them squished together on the small blue couch in the front room. Vince and Frank entered, looking a bit nervous.

"There's something we need to tell you guys," Frank announced eagerly.

"Let me guess," Ana cut in, "you all have some wonderful surprise for our moms."

Vince shot her a glance that said to wait her turn. "No. It's about your grandmother. As you know, she was a great lady. Everyone who knew her liked her—"

"Almost everyone," Tom corrected.

Vince nodded in agreement. "_Almost_ everyone who knew her liked her. Well, the truth is…" He paused, and pulled at his collar as though it were too tight.

"Just say it, " Frank encouraged.

"She was a witch, " Tom finished.

"Wait," said Vick, the voice of reason. "If she was a great person, she couldn't be a witch. Those are contradicting terms because one implies a nice personality, and the other denotes a mean one."

"Right," Susan added. "I don't get it, either."

"We don't mean a nasty witch," Frank started. "We're talking about magic…you know, flying broomsticks and making potions…that sort of thing."

"Come on, Uncle Frank," drawled Ana, "You really expect us to believe that? If you told us ten years ago we might've…"

"Vince, go get it, " Tom requested. Vince's face contorted as though in pain. "Vince, this isn't just about you, now. They don't believe. We need something to make them believe. Go get it," he said in a slightly more commanding tone. Vince nodded and got up. When he came back, he had a velvet, green bag. He poured the contents out onto the card table to the girls' left.

Splinters of wood made up most of the debris, butapearlescent white hair, athin stick of gray, and a crimson featherstood out among the wood. Cat looked atthem with wide eyes. Vick and Ana were suspicious. Liz was excited, and Susan didn't seem to care.

"That's what's left of my wand," Vince managed to say. "The white hair is from the tail of a unicorn.The gray is crystallized dragon spike, and the feather is a phoenix wing feather."

At that, the five girls crowded around the remains.

"This is just nuts!" Liz cried out loudly.

"What's really nuts is that we should have told you about all this five years ago, so that you could start your education. That was to begin when you were all eleven," Vince explained.

"Not like we're magic, right?" Susan questioned.

Tom looked at her. "How do you think it is that you remember every single thing about a book you've read, even though you've only read it once?" he asked back.

She looked confused and lost for words. "I…I have a really good memory?" she tried.

Tom shook his head and turned to Ana. "Ana, how is it that you come to find yourself suddenly out of dangerous situations, as in, all you have to do is turn a corner, and you're not in danger, any more?"

Ana couldn't answer. She was swimming in her disbelief. _That couldn't be a real unicorn hair!_ She thought wildly.

Frank then asked Vick, "How is it that you go to school, and find your worst enemy has been caught in an earthquake, when we're in the Midwest?" He rounded to Cat. "How is it that you're never sick? Even when you get injured, you're fine five minutes later."

"You guys got it," Vince said in a straightforward way. "Whether or not you want to use it is up to you."

"But if we've got this great power, we just can't turn our backs on it," Liz refuted. "With great power comes great responsibility. It's up to us to do the best we can with what we've been given."

Hearing his own daughter say this, Vince hung his head in shame. He silently nodded to his brothers, and then walked out of the room.

Trying to break the tension in the room, Ana turned to Liz. "Always the comic book buff, aren't you?" she laughed. The joke fell flat on the floor. In the background, they vaguely heard the phone ring twice.

"Dad must have gotten it," Liz let them know.

"So…" Ana started, trying to make conversation, "what do you plan to do about our 'magic' education?"

"There are three magic schools in the US," explained Frank. "One in New York, one in Texas, and one in California. We all went to a different one, and they're all pretty decent schools. We're just not sure which one would be best for all of you." He waited a second for Tom to say something.

"And we wouldn't split you up. It's very dangerous to be by yourself these days—"

Just then, Vince ran into the living room. "Lynne, Dawn, and May have been in a car accident," he reported quickly. "And they say it doesn't look good."

The eight of them flooded into Vince's Jeep and Tom's car as Vince told Tom where the scene was. When they got there, they only saw May's maroon Buick overturned on the side of the road. No other cares were part of it. Vince parked his car and jumped out.

"What happened?" he called out loudly.

There were three ambulances, but no one was running around. They were all moving slowly, as though lives weren't at stake. Vince was about to yell again when a cop approached him.

"Are you one of the Messrs Pentillo?" he questioned.

"I'm Vincent Pentillo, yes."

"Sir." The cop paused and heaved a great sigh. "I'm sorry to report that those three women in that red Buick are dead. Lord Knows how they died, but witnesses say that the car just spun out of control, and then it turned on its side. After that, a person with a white mask and black trench coat jumped out from behind the bushes and threw a brick at the window. We've looked for the suspect, but it seems he just up and disappeared out of thin air." He looked confused, and saddened that he had to tell someone that his wife and sisters-in-law were dead. "The women have no marks on them, and it is not known how they died. Their eyes were still open. They're already in the bags, and in the ambulances."

The five girls heard him. Almost as one, they got out of the cars and clustered around each other. The cop gave Tom the brick that was thrown at the windshield. It had a note on it.

"Frank, Vince, check this out," Tom said. "Join the Dark Lord, or suffer the consequences," he read.

There was no time for mourning, the three men knew. They would all have a depression session with their daughters, all together, but right now they understood that they were all in danger.

Vince turned to Frank. "You, me, and Tom should go to my house to get some things, and then we'll leave the state," he suggested.

"Temporer Alley?" Frank asked.

"Temporer Alley," Tom agreed.

Vick held onto the other four, though she was not really crying herself. Her majestic head was hung in sorrow, as Liz and Cat bawled loudly. Ana and Susan were tearing silently, and all five clung to one another for support. Their mothers were gone. Nothing would replace them. They vaguely heard the note being read, and had no idea what was going on.

Awhile later, the men came back, and Tom had, in his car, eight separate overnight bags. Everyone loaded back up into the cars, and Vince told the police to contact Dawn's family. The eight of them were hating that they were to miss their loved ones' funerals, but they had to run. They had to live.

Soon, they were out on he express way, and Vince had Tom retell him of where he was going.

"Look for the red barn. It's the only real barn untouched by time," was his reminder.

Suddenly, Tom turned into the cornfield on their right. His car disappeared. Vince got a flash of memory and turned at the exact same spot.

As the cornstalks faded away, a village came into view. A sign in rotted wood read, '_Temporer Alley. For him who will not stay._'

Nothing was painted, and the shops had no windows. Boxes were stacked high on the sidewalks. Very few people were roaming the streets, and a hushed secretiveness was everywhere. Tom parked his car in an abandoned lot, and Vince followed suit.

"You two go take Susan, Vick, and Liz wand shopping. I'll take Cat and Ana and go get robes and owls for them," Tom suggested. Frank and Vince nodded.

"I'll divide this even more," added Frank. "I'll go get the books and potions supplies."

"As long as you remember what was on that ancient supply list of Grandmother's," Vince remarked. Frank nodded and took off.

"I thought you all were unsure about our education? Surely different schools would require different materials," Liz commented.

Vince shot her a look that said shut up. He looked tense and unfriendly. "We know exactly where you all are going now. The safest place in the world. Don't ask questions. Let's go get us some wands." And they started to walk down the dusty street.


	2. Meiwaku's Wands

The wand shop seemed to be the only stationary store in Temporer Alley. It looked like a regular house with portrait windows and brown shutters. The shingles appeared ancient, and the white door contrasted painfully with the drabbiness around the house.

Vince and the girls walked closer, and saw a small sign in the window. "_Meiwaku's Wands. Est. 1809._" Vince rang the doorbell, and then an elderly Japanese man opened the door.

"Vincent Pentillo?" he asked with a sneer. "Have you finally decided that you've had enough of Muggles?"

"No," Vince replied shortly, "My family is in danger, and we need wands for protection."

The man nodded solemnly, and let Vince, Liz, Susan, and Vick inside. Immediately, Vick, Liz, and Susan spread out. Liz went to the cores, Vick explored the woods, and Susan opened the book on the counter that read Which Wand for Which Wizard.

Liz looked through the brief directory. It was sorted by animals. Liz couldn't believe how many different cores they had. Each animal had three or four body parts that were used as separate cores. Liz didn't even know what half of the animals were. There were crup tales, and augrey beak powder. Tongue of bat, and eye of newt, Liz expected. _Well,_ she thought, _I was half-right. Blood of newt's a core._

Vick was fascinated. Almost every wand had a different wood. There were also hundreds of hybrids. Vick didn't even think trees _could_ be cross-bred. She saw a ebony/oak mix, and it made a real interesting color for the length of the wand. It was a grey-ish color, as oak is beige, and ebony black. It was kind of crazy to Vick for her to be seeing all the kinds of trees. There were red-lined, cream-colored signs that described each section, and there was a picture of what the hybrid looked like. Vick opened one of the boxes, and noticed that it was in four pieces. The handle was in half, as was the length. Length and handle was not connected.

Susan quickly finished the book. Based on what she'd just read, she knew she should expect a core that had something to do with gryffins. Coming to a conclusion about her wand had been much more difficult that than figuring out her sister's and cousins' wands. She knew Ana would get a Nundu core, and Liz would have an Ashwinder core. Vick would probably get something that had to do with dragons, and Cat would get a unicorn core.

"Don't listen to that book, shouju. It doesn't follow our rules," said the old man. He appeared out of nowhere, and had been watching the girls discover the magic all over his store. "Here at Meiwaku's, our specialty is braided cores and hybrid trees. That book was made for shops that only supplied one core and one wood per wand," he explained.

"I somewhat figured," Susan agreed, "but it was still very interesting to see what my family would recieve."

"I'll wager that it was hard for you to find your core," he stated mysteriously.

Susan didn't know how he knew that. It almost scared her.

"Try this," he offered and he handed her a wand that was in pieces. He laid out a large box that held one core for each kind. "Put it together," he instructed, "and then wave it around a bit. Which is your wand hand?"

"I'm lefthanded."

He just nodded, and handed her a different box. "Wand hand means a lot, depending on which wand is the best for you. Right-handed people generally don't have as exotic wands as left-handed people, but everyone's different, so one mustn't catagorize them by wand hand." He looked her straight in the eye as he instructed her further. "Once three cores have worked for you, I will hand you several different peices of woods. Put them all together, and if the wood works, I'll get the hybrid stick. It won't have a specific length until you wave it one last time. It will then tell me how long it has to be."

Susan understood, and started trying core after core. She had been going through the list in the book in alphabetical order. Finally, when she reached the letter D, something happened. Funny-looking shadows came out from her wand.

The old man held back a laugh. "Doxy Droppings, how peculiar," he commented, "A real joker, aren't you?"

Susan was stunned. She could barely stutter, "N-no. Not really." Writing it off as an oddity, Susan continued testing cores. It was a very long time before another core worked. At the end of it all, Meiwaku took the three cores and headed to the shelves, and came back with peices of woods. That, too, took awhile. Finally, he brought the long, hybrid stick out, and a small ball of light exploded exactly eleven and a half inches away from Susan's hand.

As Meiwaku disappeared to the back of the store, Vick and Liz approached Susan.

"So, what does he do to you?" Liz asked, a curious glint in her eye.

Susan gave her a serious glance. "He performs a bunch of curses on you, and whether or not you can handle them determines your wand."

Vick raised a meticulously plucked eyebrow. Liz just looked blank. Then Susan laughed, and it was a delerious, joyous sound. "It involves feeling very stupid by waving a wand around that has different parts until you have the right combination for you."

"Sounds very boring," Liz commented sarcastically.

Meiwaku chose then to enter the room. He was holding a cream and red, footlong box. "This wand contains braided cores, and is made from hybrid woods. It contains Doxy Droppings, Phoenix Wing Feather, and Sphinx Mane Hair. The handle is from a Dogwood/Willow hybrid, which is particularly good for enhancing social charms and empath powers. Since it's in the handle, it is the basics of the wand. The length gets a little more complicated," he continued, "as it is from a Fig/Sycamore hybrid. The fig is ideal for balance, and the sycamore is good for growth and perseverence." A roll of white paper recorded what he said about the wand as he said it. "It is eleven and a half inches long." The paper stopped writing. He tore off a piece and handed it to Susan. "Be careful with your Meiwaku's Wand, it may become tempermental or fickle in its age if you don't take proper care of it," he warned. "Who's next?"

"May I?" Liz asked excitedly. Old man Meiwaku let her. She jumped as her third core swirled smoke and embers. She was done testing cores when she hit the Gryffin parts.The woods were particularly difficult, as she couldn't get the combination right. She'd mix up the woods that worked with the woods that didn't. Finally, Meiwaku had her start all over again, and hand him the woods she knew that worked.

Liz had been experimenting for about forty-five minutes when Meiwaku could finally go into his monologue about everything the wand was made from. "This wand contains braided cores, and is made from hybrid woods. It contains Ashwinder eggshell, a Centaur tail hair, and a Gryffin wing feather. Your wand will be a bit more expensive because of the large demand of Centaur cores, yet only few Centaurs will let us take such things as a tail hair or finger nail, because of their loathing of the human race. The handle is from an Elder/Peach hybrid, giving your feelings of love an appearance of power. It embodies the saying 'With love, anything is possible.' The length is a Ebony/Rowan, and the Rowan will temper Ebony's power with the ability to immobilize anything, spirits and power included. This wand is ten and a half inches long." With that, he tore the piece of paper off the roll. "You heard what I said to the first one?" he asked.

Liz said, "Yes, sir," as she recieved the paper and the box that held her wand.

Vick had watched everything that transpired. She did the math as she looked at the prices and would have winced if hiding her feelings wasn't second nature. She motioned to show she was next. As she went through the process, she had enough sense not to jump when her first core reacted. Her common sense lead her through the nonsense to her wand, made of almost pure power parts.

Meiwaku seemed pleased. "At least one of you isn't silly," he commented with approval. He held open the box so that Vick could see the finished product. "This wand contains braided cores, and is made from hybrid woods. It contains a Dragon tail spike, from the Hungarian Horntail Harry Potter fought in the Triwizard Tournement two years ago. She died, and only one tail spike didn't disintegrate. Another core in your wand is a Kneazle whisker, from a Kneazle from an experienced breeder in Surrey. The last core is a Winged Horse tail hair. It was a male roan, with wild eyes and more strength than its trainer knew what to do with. The handle is made from an Elm/Oak hybrid, and the Oak will balance out the dulling effects of the Elm. The length is a Hawthorn/Spruce hybrid, which is great for defense/attack spells. This wand is twelve inches long." Vick had no emotion on her face as she recieved the box and reciept.

"Will you be needing a wand, as well, Vincent?" Meiwaku asked him.

Silently, he shook his head, and just looked at his daughter and neices having acquired their wands. He ushered the three of them out of the store, and as he exited after them, Tom came into view with Cat and Ana trailing after him. They held a couple bags that read "_Roving Robes, for the travelling Witch or Wizard_."

"Shopping for robes is so weird!" Cat exclaimed upon seeing Vick, Susan, and Liz.

"You think that's weird?" Liz refuted, "Just wait until you have to go get your wand."

"Let them experience it themselves, Liz," Tom interrupted.

Liz rolled her eyes good naturedly. "Okay, Uncle Tom."

"Come on, it's our turn to go buy robes," Vince commanded.

About an hour later, all of them met back at the car. Frank had all the books and potions supplies.

"How'd you get them all?" Vince asked, looking incredulous.

"The shopkeepers recieve about thirty owls every year on what schools require which items. I simply asked them which things Hogwarts would require," he said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"What kinds of wands did you guys get?" Liz inquired as she eyed the bags Cat and Ana were holding.

Ana was hesitant to say anything, so Cat began. "Mr. Meiwaku basically called me a frumpy, silly little creature when he gave me my wand. It's cores are fairy dust, mooncalf hoof, and unicorn tail hair. The wood in the handle is Apple/Coconut, and the length is Almond/Mistletoe."

"No wonder he called you silly, Cat. Those are all...well...really girlish components for a wand," Susan explained, having read the book at the counter. "But he shouldn't have called you that," she saved. "It's not like you could have picked which wand you wanted. It picked you."

"Right. He wouldn't even talk to me other than telling me what my wand contained," Ana snapped. "Mine's got a Leprechaun whisker, a Malaclaw claw, and a cystalized stick of Nundu breath. He acted as though I were a disease of some sort."

"Ana, a Nundu looks like a jaguar, but its breath is deadly. It kills entire villages. Africa's got a lot of desert because of those things," said Susan. "What were your woods?"

"The handle was Fir/White Poplar, and the length was Alder/Teak."

The three who had not witnessed it understood. Only Susan could decipher what it meant that her sister and cousin had recieved those woods, but her head hurt from all her thinking. "What's next, Uncle Vince?" she questioned.

"Well, next...we wait until envoys from Hogwarts come to retrieve you," Frank answered. "I've already sent them an owl. They'll be here shortly."

"You mean we're going there directly? No time with you to say goodbye to our mothers? No anything?" Cat asked, her eyes beginning to tear at the mention of their mothers. The other four became sad as well.

The three men gathered the five girls together in a large hug and held them close. They cried and sobbed there by the cars.

* * *

A/N: Hi, people. So glad the two of you read this!

**Oddball91**: Thanks for reviewing! I'm not quite sure it will be a _great_ story...It includes putting people in Hogwarts, and they are all girls...but at least it's got a plot:-)

**Moo Cow4**: I really appreciate your reviewing. Hope you liked this chapter!


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